ORIGIN STORY

LANDRACE ORiGiNS AiMS TO EDUCATE ABOUT THE SUPPLY CHAiN SiMiLARiTiES BETWEEN COFFEE AND CANNABiS.

ORIGIN STORY

LANDRACE ORIGINS is the first coffee brand that’s encouraging consumers to pair their coffee and Cannabis together. The company believes that just as we tell customers about regions famous for their beans, we should also tell them about their strains of Cannabis and how these flavors interact together – even going so far as to create a set of examples to start with. Their tagline – Tell The Origin Story – refers to the overarching plan to give consumers the information to make an educated choice by buying products that support farms and farmers instead of corporations.

The first brand backed by Oakland-based company MAKR House, Landrace Origins is the brainchild of well-known cannabis entrepreneur Amber Senter who enlisted her cousin Black Stallion Coffee owner/head roaster Scott Johnson to help create a program for pairing beans with buds, as well as tell the story of how these products get to the shelves.

The two talked about the similarities between their industries, the importance of knowing where your products come from, and how no one was designing a pairing experience between different types of coffees and the Cannabis that grows native to those areas.

Each of the company’s first four releases is designed to be paired with different landrace strains of Cannabis, chosen based on combinations of taste and effect. The term “Landrace” refers to a plant that, over time, has adapted to its environment and become a natural part of the landscape. These landrace cultivars can be hard to find – often requiring more care, time and optimal conditions to grow. They’ve largely fallen out of favor as big greenhouses fill the landscape. Through this partnership, Landrace Origins hopes to open the door for more interest in

Amber Senter explains tasting notes

landrace strains amongst retailers and consumers – showcasing their history, as well as the coffees that grow nearby in these particular regions.

Another important part of telling this story, according to Senter, is sourcing as much information as possible from the people who live there. “These wonderful strains, most of them come from Africa,” she points out. “Often, Black people aren’t seen as Cannabis experts, and we need to start changing the role Black people play in Cannabis history. We brought these things to light, to the market, so it’s really important to highlight the people who’ve been cultivating these strains for centuries.”

Working with small importers, geneticists, cultivators and coffee farmers, Landrace Origins has created an educational experience that can be shared from coast to coast. While not always on your local menu, landrace strains like Durban Poison are becoming more widely available. Meaning that you, your sister in Arizona and your cousin in Connecticut can all discover the freshly-roasted Yirgacheffe as you get roasted off some Lamb’s Bread.

Their whole line is a love letter to the supply chain, but two varieties in particular stand out: the Majestic and the Congolese.

Majestic is Landrace Origin’s signature blend, created by

A match made in heaven.

opportunities, they’ve developed this program to promote women’s representation and business education, raising the standard of living for their communities. If any of that sounds familiar to the Cannabis industry, it’s just the beginning. There’s so much Cannabis can learn from the journey coffee has taken over the last 20 years. In a business dominated by big players like Folgers and Columbia House, retailers in the coffee industry began promoting the impressive works of specific areas and farms – spreading not only their family histories, but also the reasons why the combination of soil, elevation and intention produces some of the best coffees on earth. While brands like Starbucks have promoted elevated coffee experiences, new blood like Blue Bottle, Coava and Philz have helped people open their wallets and palates for specialty blends that feature more subtle notes – and support a living wage for their producers. Over time, the dominant attitude shifted to responsibility through purchase. Now, each halfpound you grab at the store equals more than just the flavor notes on the bag, but also the success story of a roaster, a farmer and a supply chain. mixing three specific kinds Just like finding Being part of both industries, Johnof beans. It’s a perfect chance to tell the story coffee farmers son and Senter are uniquely qualified to identify which other protections of how genetics trav- with stories to tell, coffee farmers fought for that could el by pairing it with a blended landrace strain like Happy Day Farms’ looking for the right Cannabis farmers benefit Cannabis producers. “The thing that’s going to help the small farmer the most is the same Orange Durban. with landrace blends thing that helps the small retailer – a Just like finding coffee farmers with stories to is equally important reduced excise tax,” Senter explains. “But there’s also the idea of a tell, looking for the right for telling how far fair trade movement for Cannabis – Cannabis farmers with these genetics have ensuring farmers are properly paid. landrace cultivars is equally important for telling how traveled and who is Small farmers are putting weed in the chipper because it’s easier to destroy far these genetics have caring for them now. than sell, while corporate interest traveled and who is caring farms are selling at a loss so they for them now. For their can outlive everyone. So much is due Congolese single-origin, to [Cannabis] leaning on people’s this was perhaps most inclination to compare THC numbers important. The group they found to run sales, instead of teaching consumers to shop to collaborate with, Rebuild by who their money supports.” Women’s Hope, is a collective One of the more exciting things about this project of farmers from a large remote is that it can take this story of who, where and why island in the eastern part of to a new crowd of consumers. Landrace Origins is the Democratic Republic of Cannabis-adjacent, not Cannabis-infused – which Congo. means they can attend food and beverage trade An area that has shows across the country, sparking a conversation mainly survived through about sustainable smoking along the way. their coffee trade, for Cannabis fans already hold coffee in such high years they had only regard … isn’t it time coffee lovers were given the smugglers to sell to same opportunity to know where it all originates? and were held hostage by illegal trade prices. Now, with so many TELLTHEORIGINSTORY.COM new regulations and @LANDRACEORIGINS